


Bloom

by PeppyDragon



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-30 00:38:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10865433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeppyDragon/pseuds/PeppyDragon
Summary: Ryder gives Evfra lessons in patience and stopping to smell the metaphorical roses.





	Bloom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mavychan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mavychan/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything, but if I could own something it would have to be Evfra. I also don’t own the song “Bloom” by The Paper Kites, which is the title song for this one-shot (seriously, guys, this is really a one-shot. You can’t convince me to continue it… *she says, completely unconvincingly*). Please enjoy!

There had been suspicious reports about minor explosions in the jungle all morning.  Evfra had intended to catch up on the requisition orders from Havarl, but now he had to deal with this sudden batch of strange explosions because both of his teams were out on training and recon missions.  

The Resistance was running on a skeleton crew already, and Evfra was, surprisingly, the most replaceable person left on the base.

On his way out, rifle slung over his back, the human Pathfinder intercepted him.  “Evfra, hey-”

“I am busy,” he tried to deflect her, moving around and away.  It was difficult to look at her - at how she shone in the sunlight.  How the scar across her cheek stretched with her smile.  How her strange hair flitted in the soft breeze.

It seemed that deflecting her was not going to happen, however, because her small, lithe body allowed her to duck and weave and wind up in front of him again, walking backward with startling ease.  “Look, I get that you’re busy, but I wanted to see if you would be willing to do dinner-”

“Evfra, there’s another report of an explosion near the river in the eastern quadrant-” an angara said as he hurried up to them, wringing his hands.  “Will someone go see-”

“I am heading there now,” Evfra sighed, glancing down at Ryder.  The woman had perked up and looked almost excited.

“Can I come along?” she chirped.

“No.”

“Well you can’t go _alone,”_ Ryder said, her hands splaying out in front of her as if the truth to her words were in them.  “I can watch your back.”

Evfra narrowed his eyes.  “What? My back is fine.”

“Um, I mean, I can make sure you don’t get shot if there’s danger,” she translated, looking sheepish.  “You know… be your backup?”

Evfra sighed and shook his head, gently moving her to the side and continuing his journey through the market and toward the shuttle bay.  

Ryder would not take that for an answer, though, because she trotted up beside him, her short legs having a tough time keeping up.  “Evfra, I’m just going to follow you until you let me come along.  Jaal would kill me if I didn’t keep an eye on you.”

“Fine,” Evfra grumbled.  “Get your gear and meet me at the shuttle bay.  I leave in fifteen minutes, with or without you.”

“Right, yeah, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”  The human scampered off like a child might when given an order to wash up for dinner.  Evfra tried not to be slightly amused by it, but somehow it was one of the most amusing things he’d seen in awhile.

 _I need to get out of the base more,_ Evfra realized, suddenly glad for explosions to investigate.

 

* * *

 

There were no shuttles in the shuttle bay, Evfra discovered with much displeasure. 

It seemed as though the recon teams had split up into more manageable groups, all of which had taken a shuttle.  It normally wouldn’t be an issue, except now Evfra needed to shuttle himself and a very chipper human out to the river as quickly as possible.

Evfra groaned.  Somehow things always became more difficult when the Tempest arrived to dock.

When Ryder flounced into the shuttle bay ten minutes later, outfitted in a close-fitting under-armor, Evfra's eyes widened.  Evfra didn’t blame her for leaving her hard suit on the Tempest - Aya was warm and mostly harmless. A hard-suit would only cause more issues than it solved.

His problem lied with the fact that he couldn't stop staring. Evfra momentarily forgot about the missing shuttles as he admired the slender curves of the human’s body.  In the past months, Aya had seen an increase in trade as humans made their way planetside with the established Embassy.  As such, Evfra was now sure that, although small, Ryder sported one of the better bodies of her species.  

“Where are the shuttles?” Ryder asked, glancing around.

“Out,” Evfra replied with a weary sigh.

“Oh.  I can have the Tempest drop the Nomad outside?” she offered, though she looked skeptical. 

“That monstrosity?  It would ruin every corner of the ground it touched.  No, we will walk.  It is only a few kilometers.”

Ryder nodded, looking excited.  “I’ve never been outside of the city; I’d love to get groundside.  Can I take some soil samples?  Suvi would like some soil samples.”

Evfra looked up at the roof of the hangar.  She was taxing to listen to at times.  She babbled, cheerfully so.  It was almost maddening.

Almost.

“No,” he replied simply and turned on his heel, not looking to make sure the human was following.

 

* * *

 

“Oh my _God,_ this is beautiful!  What is the called?” 

They had only been walking for ten minutes, and Ryder’s childlike fascination with all of flora and fauna was already getting annoying. Evfra turned with a sigh and glanced at where Ryder was stooped in the dirt, a bare fingertip just barely caressing across a startling blue flower.  Evfra’s heart skipped a beat for a moment.  It was the flower that he’d grown up seeing - it had bloomed in his mother’s garden, overtaking the other flowers with its hardy personality and exquisite color. 

Ryder was looking at him, her face so open, her smile so innocent.  She was still pure enough to stop and admire flowers.  Evfra couldn’t remember the last time that he had done so.

Perhaps before his capture and imprisonment in a kett work camp.  Possibly before the kett took his family.   

Evfra walked toward her and lowered himself beside the human, reaching out to caress a gloved finger across a supple blue petal.  “Linaae,” he breathed in a belated reply.

He could feel Ryder’s eyes on his, could feel her breath fanning across his cheek.  They were so close that a stiff breeze would push them together.  “It’s beautiful,” she hummed.

“It was my true mother’s favorite flower,” he said, not sure why he was sharing the detail but suddenly unable to help it.  

Ryder placed a hand on Evfra’s arm and he stiffened, pulling away and standing quickly.  “We have explosions to investigate, not flowers to admire.  Come.”

He didn’t look back at Ryder - he could imagine she was frowning at him as she pulled herself out of the dirt, her black under-armor shifting and caressing her body.  He tried not to think about it as he strode through the trees, hearing the sound of Ryder jogging behind him to keep up.

 

* * *

 

A small explosion rocked the jungle as they approached the river.  Evfra and Ryder both pulled out their weapons, a faint blue electricity flicking around Ryder’s hands.  Evfra had heard from Jaal’s reports that the woman controlled a fascinating ability they called biotics, but Evfra hadn’t expected to ever see it. 

And, it turned out, he wouldn’t get to see it in action.  As they neared the river quietly, they found a group of angara giggling and playing in the water, a bundle of oddly shaped sticks and balls under a nearby tree.

Ryder snickered when she saw the package and put her weapon away.  The blue flaming at her fingertips dissipated.

“What are you doing?” Evfra demanded.

“They’re fireworks.  Someone must have snuck them in from the Milky Way.  They’re mostly harmless, though I’m kind of surprised these idiots haven’t burned down half of the jungle by now.”

“Fire... works?”

“Yeah, they’re… well, they’re these explosions that send up colorful designs in the sky.  Setting them off in midday is pretty pointless, though. Especially in a jungle.”

Evfra growled and jogged toward the river bend where four angaran males were splashing about.  “Get out,” he shouted, startling them.  “And I am confiscating your contraband.  You could have burned down our jungle and our home with it.”

The angara scattered, probably hoping that Evfra wouldn’t have had a good enough look at them to find them later.  Which was a moot point, really, because they also forgot their clothing in their haste.

“All you have to do is ask who was naked and running through the marketplace now,” Ryder giggled as she came out of the tree line.

“I am glad you are amused,” Evfra simpered, not glad at all.

“Oh, Evfra, lighten up,” Ryder sighed, unzipping the side of her under-armor and peeling it away from her upper body.  “Come swim with me.”  

“I have a Resistance to run,” Evfra said hotly.  “You suggest I swim?”

“I actually demand it,” Ryder winked, slipping fully out of her suit.  Her body was scar-pitted and bruised, alien but beautiful.  Evfra couldn’t help but stare as she slipped into the water, her white underwear becoming translucent in the water.

She floated on her back, looking up at the canopy, a faint smile on her face.  Evfra sighed and made a great show of grumbling as he slid out of his Rofjinn and under armor.  The underclothes he wore were not meant for water, but it was a better alternative than getting nude.

He slipped into the water, leaning against the steep bank, watching Ryder float.

She eventually swam over to him, her body bumping against his.  He stiffened at her proximity, but she either didn’t notice or didn’t care.  “Look up,” she murmured.

Evfra sighed again but did as bidden.  It took him a moment to see what she was referring to as he squinted past the blinding sunlight streaming through the trees.  And then he saw it.  Bright, vibrant blooms twining their way through the canopy.

“Linaae,” he whispered, in awe.  “How did they…?”

“There’s still wonder in the universe, Evfra,” Ryder murmured, gingerly reaching out to place a hand on his chest.  “You just have to be open to looking.”

Evfra met her gentle gaze.  Her eyes were the color of the Linaae.  The color of his skin.  The color that his mother adored, and that he missed and loathed and admired all in one moment.  

He didn’t mean to do it.  It just happened.  He leaned down to Ryder, his mouth pressing against hers.  He knew it was a bad idea - how could such a fascinating woman want him?  How could such a union ever work? But her lips were soft as they pressed against him, her arms warm as they slid around his neck.

When they pulled apart, Evfra could barely breathe past the feelings she elicited in him.  He wanted to laugh; he wanted to lay her out under the Linaae and watch the stars wink through the canopy as night descended.

But he had duties, he reminded himself.

“We should… return,” he said softly.

“Yeah,” Ryder murmured, smiling faintly.  “I suppose we should.”  She slid away from him and up the bank, shaking water from her body.  “You should probably confiscate these fireworks, too.”

Evfra followed her lead, letting the warm air dry his body before sliding back into his armor, boots, and Rofjinn.  He took up the bundle of fireworks under one arm, and the pair began the trek back in silence.

Evfra wasn’t good in these situations.  He overthought - allowed his anxiety and fear of loss choke the compassion still hidden inside of him.  He knew he couldn’t do that to Ryder - he couldn’t let her leave Aya thinking that this hadn’t meant something to him.

But he wasn’t sure how.

And then he began noticing something Ryder must have already seen.  Linaae blooms were everywhere - clinging to tree trunks, twining through felled logs, twisting through the dirt on hearty vines.

He stopped to look at a thick string of them growing along a tree and felt emotion choking his throat.  “Ryder,” he said.

The woman stopped and traced her steps back to him.  “Evfra.”

Evfra handed her the bundle of fireworks before plucking a large bloom.  The honeyed scent from its broken stem filled the air as Evfra gently tucked it into Ryder’s wet hair.  The blue of the petals made her eyes stand out even more.

Ryder’s expression made Evfra’s heart want to explode in a feeling he couldn’t quite place.  She reached up to his chin, pulling it down to her, and kissed him. 

Evfra picked her up in his arms, holding her close, not even hearing the clatter of fireworks falling to the ground.  His mouth covered hers, his tongue slowly and hesitantly exploring her mouth.  She tasted sweet and smelled sweeter.  Everything about her felt right.

When they parted, Ryder was breathless and grinning.  “Well then.”

Evfra cleared his throat as he put her back on the ground.  “We should get this contraband back to the base.”

Ryder nodded.  “Definitely.”

“And perhaps… we can set them off.  When we defeat the kett.”

“That's an excellent idea.”

“And perhaps… we should… have dinner.  Next time you decide to come to Aya.”

Ryder tilted her head to the side, the Linaae bloom and her eyes bright and glittering.  “What about tonight?”

Evfra swallowed past the anxiety and the fear of loss.  “Tonight sounds… perfect.”


End file.
